Murim Recurve

Re'Kha stretched her limbs, feeling warm as she felt a mysterious sense of confidence stream through her. It was as if she was aided by something formless that would help her in her time of need.

It was a weird feeling, one she wouldn't hesitate to indulge in. After getting refreshed, she wore her armour, Rigid Water. Even though she felt it was overkill to be dressed for battle when visiting an auction, Re'Kha felt it was wise to just go with it.

After all, from an outsider's perspective, it just looked like a fusion between the dressing style of the Re Clan and the Ju Clan. And, it was considerably luxurious in appearance and didn't seem like anything one would wear for battle.

That was thanks to the quality of the base materials used that had soaked up the Water Qi the embedded Magic Artifact emitted upon activation. Because of this, the armour was maintained in a pristine state and only seemed like luxurious clothing Harmonisers wore for special occasions.

The previous day, she had draped a simple gown over it to hide it from view. Now, she didn't use the gown. The clothes and the rich blue colour did accentuate her beauty. Though, she had most of her face covered.

The armour had a retractable portion to cover her face too. But as she wasn't heading into battle now, Re'Kha hid the part and only wore it as a hood. The design itself allowed her to do so, another reason she was inclined to buy it in the first place.

Upon exiting her room, Re'Kha walked through the place, habitually checking to see the gem on her Tikka jewellery was covered. She then activated her Wind Qi perception, inspecting every nook and cranny of the house to see the blank spaces she had spotted the previous day was no longer present.

She then expanded the range of her perception, noticing the nearby houses too were bereft of them. There were still some blank spaces, but upon seeing their stored locations, Re'Kha determined they were Magic Artifacts or elemental weapons used by the respective household.

She walked to the living room, noticing Ki'Nha drag a rather heavy bag before setting it atop the table with a grunt. And just based on the sound it produced, Re'Kha knew it was filled to the brim with money.

Upon seeing her puzzled look, Ki'Nha wiped her sweat and took the time to talk, "Have you visited an auction before?"

"No, I haven't." Re'Kha shook her head. After she had become a Harmoniser, she had been busy training and building experience. Because of it, she had missed the auctions that were conducted every year.

It was always conducted when she was either busy or was on a mission.

"There is one rule we follow in the auction, always." Ki'Nha smiled, "It is that all your money has to be deposited before you are seated inside. And, only the money you have deposited can be used to buy items from within. So, you must always bring enough and have to spend calculatedly if you don't wish to be short of money by the time your item of wish appears."

"That seems complicated," Re'Kha nodded, "Most cannot buy anything else with peace of mind if they are gunning for a treasure."

"Indeed, that is precisely how the auction works." Ki'Nha nodded, "Otherwise, it would make zero sense if people exited the auction and returned with more money. Because of this, information of the auction would leak out and there is also a chance for the people to enter bankruptcy"

"That's why we added this rule," Ki'Nha let out a gentle sigh, "Most people wouldn't appear with the intent to spend all their life's savings to obtain a treasure. And besides, this one rule tests the mind of everyone. Now, only the best schemer will win."

"Is the Royal Clan organising this auction?" Re'Kha inquired.

"It is always us, and only us that organises one," Ki'Nha nodded, "If any of the merchant organisations or the Elemental Clans wish to auction something, they would submit the item to us. And, there is an important reason we conduct an auction in the first place."

Upon seeing the confused expression on Re'Kha, Ki'Nha smiled, "It is to make money circulate through the market. Otherwise, the merchant organisations and the Elemental Clans will continue to hoard it. And in the future, they will be able to manipulate the market value as they wished. This is to prevent that."

With a sly smile, she snickered, "That's why we conduct auctions every year. This way, to buy the treasures, all the wealthy would spend the money. And, we will use this money to pay everyone working under us. This will keep the money circulating continuously and prevent them from hoarding it. And the best part of this is…"

She laughed, "Even if they know our intention, they have no other choice but to fall into it. If they don't buy, another merchant organisation or an Elemental Clan will obtain it. This will give them an edge. So, without even realising, they compete with each other and blow up the prices of the items in the auction."

"That makes a lot of sense," Re'Kha nodded, "This is how the Royal Clan can keep the Elemental Clans in check."

"It seems you can grasp it quickly," Ki'Nha smiled in praise.

"My…mother is precisely such a character. She must always be kept in check." Re'Kha said when she thought of something, quickly interrupting the follow-up question of Ki'Nha, "What type of treasures will there be this time?"

"Haha," Ki'Nha let out a wry smile, "I cannot give you any details. But, this auction is the largest of the past decade in our state. There are items taken from the Treka, treasures our Royal Clan has given out…and a lot of goods that have arrived from the capital."

"Even the capital?" Re'Kha was shocked, wondering the reason the capital took charge of the matter.

She then heard Ki'Nha sigh, "There will be another disaster in this state soon. This is in preparation against that."

"Disaster?" Her eyes widened as she noticed how Ki'Nha did seem willing to answer, inquiring immediately, "What is the cause?"

"The Rhipa."